Prototype Audis on River Road in NYC?

[Ti_on_Steel]

This is slightly off topic, but I ride River Road in NYC during the week a lot, and often see prototype Audi sedans with the swirl anti photo camo paint jobs on them. Anyone know what that's about?

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by Ti_on_Steel

This is slightly off topic, but I ride River Road in NYC during the week a lot, and often see prototype Audi sedans with the swirl anti photo camo paint jobs on them. Anyone know what that's about?

Can't say for 100% sure, but we see this often in Los Angeles. Car manufacturers put their cars that have not been brought to market yet in real life situations to see how they will perform. They sometimes have sensors on them, other times just wrapped up in camo material.

Again, I can only assume it's Audi testing their cars on the streets on NYC.

[R3awak3n]

Funny I saw one of those on river road like 2 months ago or so. It was some sort of audi suv, wondered the same thing as you

[velofinds]

Never seen one on RR but can't imagine what benefit they'd get out of it. As I understand it, manufacturers will often take their prototypes out into extreme conditions - be it temperature, elevation, speed, etc. - and RR (or anywhere within a couple hundred mile radius, for that matter) offers absolutely none of those.

[Ti_on_Steel]

I figure it's to preview them to dealers or press?

[purpurite]

Media sees the new cars before the dealers, and they see actual new model cars that are ready for car shows (sometimes even the Euro versions of them). New cars are in the media/press pools long before the dealers get access to them.

Camo'd cars are all next gen body styles that they are real-world testing—they just don't want you to see the details. Nothing crazy, they used to not be so cloak-n-dagger about it, but the prying eyes of the internet makes it really hard to get cars that are close to production tested in real world conditions.

[Cicli]

Originally Posted by Ti_on_Steel

I figure it's to preview them to dealers or press?

Nah, I worked in durability testing for a manufacturer. We didnt ever preview anything to dealers or press until testing was done. If you preview anything it leaks and leaks fast. We used to black out logos and cover the trucks with vinyl with foam underneth to change the shape. The windows were tinted and black vinyl stickers were added around the windows to change the shapes in case it was photographed. We installed vinyl stickers around the lights for the same purpose. All aerodynamic features of the body were masked when it went into public. We even went as far as to install an interior from the competition and the VIN was a reissue from a castoff old test vehicle. We went through great lengths to hide what we were testing while it was in R&d. If it broke down somewhere in the country we would recover it and bring it home. These trucks were not worked on in franschise dealerships.

What you are seeing are test vehicles for powertrain testing and data collection in all driving conditions. We parked trucks in a shipping container with the top cut off in Phoenix summers and ran them till they cooked. Then took them to the far reaches of northern Canada and froze them. The engineers geek out on numbers and data.

[Ti_on_Steel]

Thanks for the inside scoop!

Originally Posted by Cicli

Nah, I worked in durability testing for a manufacturer. We didnt ever preview anything to dealers or press until testing was done. If you preview anything it leaks and leaks fast. We used to black out logos and cover the trucks with vinyl with foam underneth to change the shape. The windows were tinted and black vinyl stickers were added around the windows to change the shapes in case it was photographed. We installed vinyl stickers around the lights for the same purpose. All aerodynamic features of the body were masked when it went into public. We even went as far as to install an interior from the competition and the VIN was a reissue from a castoff old test vehicle. We went through great lengths to hide what we were testing while it was in R&d. If it broke down somewhere in the country we would recover it and bring it home. These trucks were not worked on in franschise dealerships.

What you are seeing are test vehicles for powertrain testing and data collection in all driving conditions. We parked trucks in a shipping container with the top cut off in Phoenix summers and ran them till they cooked. Then took them to the far reaches of northern Canada and froze them. The engineers geek out on numbers and data.

[Tickdoc]

This thread has me wanting to mask my car in black and white swirly wrap that looks like a prototype, just to mess with people

[Steve in SLO]

Here in central California, we see Mercedes, Audi and Porsche test mules with relative frequency. Usually they are masked over with tape, false panels, or body wrap to hide body shape and lighting configurations.

[Bob Ross]

Originally Posted by Ti_on_Steel

the swirl anti photo camo paint jobs

Never heard of this, got a pic?

[RFC]

GM has had major testing facilities in AZ since the 50's. My cousin was a testing manager at one. He and his team loved their jobs. They spent their days using state-of-the-art testing equipment while frying and generally beating the sh*t out of new cars. Then, in the evenings, they would all go to my cousin's house to race high end RC cars, which they had constructed, on the banked track my cousin built in his backyard.

[mistermo]

One has to question why they'd pic LA and NYC to secretly test their mules? I'm supposing the population density makes it more likely to attract 'buzz' around a camo'd car giving them free publicity for upcoming models. In other words, it's less about the testing, and more about the marketing.

[Ti_on_Steel]

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

Never heard of this, got a pic?

Not the actual ones, just something pulled off the web

[fignon's barber]

Originally Posted by Ti_on_Steel

Not the actual ones, just something pulled off the web

Looks like something Cipollini would drive.